


Feminine Bravery

by jenbug (ladybug218)



Category: Golden Girls
Genre: Episode Tag, F/F, First Time, Sexual Experimentation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 23:02:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1099599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladybug218/pseuds/jenbug
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery - Victor Hugo</p>
            </blockquote>





	Feminine Bravery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lorraine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorraine/gifts).



> episode tag for 2x05 "Isn't It Romantic?"
> 
> fic contains language that is found in canon and may be objectionable

Three weeks after Jean's visit, Rose was still having trouble sleeping. Since the other woman left, she couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened between them and their conversation in the kitchen. She realized that she hadn't been quite honest when she told Jean that she didn't understand the kind of feelings she had. 

In fact, her conversation with Jean reminded Rose about Christy Swenson back in St. Olaf. She and Christy were best friends in high school until one weekend when Christy's parents traveled to St. Paul and let their daughter stay with Rose's family. The second night Christy was there, the two girls stayed up all night talking and, when Christy started crying about Klaus Nicholson breaking up with her, it was only natural for Rose to give her a hug. Somehow that hug turned into cuddling and Rose was shocked when Christy pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. She pulled away from the other girl and after that, nothing was the same between them. 

All these decades later and Rose finally came to the conclusion that, even though she was surprised by Christy's actions that night, she had kind of liked the closeness they shared and the kiss wasn't that bad. Back then, she had no idea what a lesbian was or that it was even possible for two girls to like each other. Now that she had more knowledge and experience, she realized that she did understand Jean's feelings and in addition to being flattered by her attentions, she was intensely curious about being with a woman. 

Sighing deeply and realizing she was unlikely to get any sleep, she got up, pulled on her robe, and headed for the kitchen to make a cup of tea. As she sipped the tea, she got lost in thought, imagining what might have happened if she hadn't feigned sleep when Jean admitted her feelings, if Jean had slipped into the bed with her instead of sleeping on the loveseat. She was so caught up in those thoughts that she startled, sloshing tea all over the table, when the door to the kitchen swung open.

"Oh, Rose, I'm sorry," Blanche said. "I didn't know anyone else was up. I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay, Blanche," Rose said. "I was so lost in thought that I didn't hear your footsteps. What are you doing up?"

Blanche shrugged. "Woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep. Why are you awake?"

"I haven't really been sleeping well the past few weeks," she said. "Too much on my mind, I guess."

There was a momentary pause before Blanche said, "A few weeks? Since Jean's visit?"

Rose shifted in her chair, uncomfortable that Blanche had so easily pinpointed the source of her sleeplessness. "Yeah."

Blanche sat across from Rose with her own cup of tea and seemed to be considering her words before she spoke. "Were you offended by her interest?"

"What? No! I wasn't offended at all," Rose said. "I just… well… do you promise you won't make fun of me?"

"Of course I won't," Blanche said.

Rose sighed and hoped her friend was being serious. "It made me curious."

"Curious?" Blanche repeated. "About being a lesbian?"

Rose nodded. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"Of course not, Rose. Why on earth would it make you a bad person?"

"I don't know," she said. "Because I told Jean that I didn't understand how she could feel that way but I think I might want to understand and I didn't tell her that."

"Listen, Rose," Blanche said. "You didn't do anything wrong. You've never met a lesbian before so the idea of being with another woman wasn't on your radar. It's perfectly natural that spending time with Jean and knowing that she has feelings for you would make you curious."

There was something in Blanche's tone that made Rose think she was trying to convince herself as much as Rose about what she was saying. "Blanche, did Jean's visit make you curious too?"

"Well isn't that the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Blanche said. "I love men. You know that."

Rose did know that, but she also knew that there was something not quite on the level in what Blanche was saying. "Just because you love men doesn't mean that you can't be curious," she said. "I've been doing some reading and apparently some people are bisexual. That means they like both men and women."

"Do you think you might be like that?" Blanche asked, her expression softening and displaying a vulnerability that she didn't often show.

"I don't know. How would you know something like that?" she asked. 

Blanche bit her lower lip and stared down at her tea cup. "What if you tried being with a woman? So you could see if you liked it."

"How am I supposed to do that? I suppose I could call Jean and ask her to visit again. Or visit her. But, that could be really awkward," Rose said.

"Maybe you could try it with someone else," Blanche said. "A friend who was also curious, for instance."

"I guess that could work," Rose agreed. "But I don't know if I could ask Dorothy something like that."

Blanche sighed. "I meant me, Rose. I'm curious too. It's not something I ever thought about before meeting Jean, but I have been terribly curious ever since she left."

Rose stared at her friend in surprise. "You are? But you're such a slut."

"Rose! I'm not a… well, okay, I suppose I am… friendly with men," Blanche admitted. "But that doesn't mean I can't be curious about being with a woman. I imagine it would be a lot different. Women are softer than men."

The two locked eyes and studied each other for a few moments before they both abruptly looked down at the table and settled in to an uncomfortable silence as they finished their tea. After several minutes, Rose finally blurted out, "Do you want to?"

Blanche looked up. "I… yes, I want to try it."

"Me too."

They both stood and took their cups to the sink, their arms brushing as they stood close. Rose felt a jolt of desire that surprised her and she reached for Blanche's hand. "No matter what, we'll still be friends, right?"

"Of course, Rose," Blanche promised, squeezing her hand. 

*

The next morning, Rose and Blanche were clearly exhausted when they finally joined Dorothy and Sophia in the kitchen for breakfast. 

"Looks like you two didn't get much sleep last night," Dorothy said, getting up to pour them both coffee. "Everything okay?"

They exchanged a shy smile and nodded. "Just had a lot on my mind," Rose said. "But Blanche helped me work through it."

"Ha! I knew it," Sophia exclaimed. "Dorothy, you owe me five dollars."  
"Ma, what are you talking about?" Dorothy asked. 

"I bet you five dollars that Rose would be curious by Jean's interest," Sophia said. "Of course, I never would have guessed that _Blanche_ would get curious. Then again, I guess you can be an even bigger slut if you're willing to sleep with men and women."

"Ma!"

"It's okay, Dorothy," Blanche said. "Sophia's right. Rose and I were both curious and we decided to… satisfy that curiosity."

"Was it satisfying?" Sophia asked.

The others ignored her inappropriate question. "So what's this mean?" Dorothy asked. "Are you two a couple now?"

Rose and Blanche both shrugged. "We're taking it one day at a time," Rose said. "Does it bother you?"

"Of course not," Dorothy said. "I'm just surprised."

"I'm not," Sophia said. "It was only a matter of time before Blanche ran out of men to sleep with."

"Ma, please," Dorothy said. "Be nice."

"Fine, fine," Sophia said. "Come on, Dorothy. Let's go to the grocery store. I have a feeling we're going to need to stock up on cheesecake."


End file.
